Food on the Streets

Street Food. For some, adventure, some comfort food, or rather fear and terror. There is plenty of it in Asia and thus of course also in Indonesia. Here in Jakarta, where we spend most of our time, you can't get a few meters from the spot without stumbling across a street serenade. At the same time, you can have all kinds of food prepared at such a serenade. From drinks like the popular lemon tea, to crepes, to nasi rice and Mie Goreng, and in an incredible number of variations. If nasi and mie are not familiar terms; nasi is rice, mie is noodles and goreng means fried. 

 

 

Very popular are the chicken skewers, in Indonesian "Ayam Sate" which are grilled over coconut shells and taste incredibly good. Avocado, for example, is served here as a dessert drink with chocolate, unlike the avocado toast you might be used to. This may seem strange to some, but it is a very common drink in Asia. The avocado is mixed with syrup and condensed milk and liquid chocolate. Also popular is the Soto Bakso. Which is soup with chicken dumplings. I must say that has already nursed me healthy. 

 

 

 

 

The dishes are very varied, but are often based on the same basic ingredients: Rice or noodles and chicken. There are also stalls selling fresh fruit and vegetables, cell phone cases and other odds and ends, and bicycle coffee and tea. Some are probably wondering now what these are. Bicycle coffee and tea are coffee and tea ready mix powder packed in small bags, which then hang one of the many bicycles on the roadside. In other words, a mobile street stall that makes its rounds around town selling its wares.  

 

In my theory, the street stalls are sometimes even a bit more hygienic and trustworthy than the typical chain restaurants. Of course, caution is advised everywhere, because no one wants to catch food poisoning. Furthermore, let me justify my hypothesis. The street stalls are run by the locals themselves. They have their fixed place on the streets where they come back every day and people know where to find them again. But after work, they are carted back by the stall holders. Back home, where the stand owner personally takes care of his serenade. 

Here, hearsay is key, because it's still the fastest way among locals and in a community for spreading news. So word gets around quickly when several of the locals from a street stall get sick or one or the other doesn't prepare good food. It's different with the chains. Here, comparatively, no one cares because the employees get their salary and their livelihood, unlike the street food serenades, does not depend exclusively on it. On the other hand, it is more likely that a chain will lose track or neglect hygiene rules than a self-operated serenade, where this is exactly what matters.

What do you guys think? Let us know in the comments!

Until next Time. 

Love, Kristina